Michael Shermer in Melbourne

Sitting in the Theater waiting for the talk to start. Michael has the add for his Skeptic Magazine up and organizing his presentation meeting unknown who's. The theater is filling up, so it nice to see that there is a market here in Melbourne, Australia for what the author of "The Believing Brain" has to say. Robert Sain, Dean of Faculty of Science at Melbourne University and gave a run down on Dr Shermers C.V. Then straight to the Skeptic himself, and the presentation overall was based on his book, which yours truly had just listened to, read by Michael Shermer. The good thing was that he presented some of the videos of his experiences he told us in the book. This meant the trans US bike ride he participated in with the intention to minimize the sleep time. This resulted in the fifty-eighth hour, experiencing an abduction by aliens straight from the 70's TV show "The Invaders" with Roy Thinnes, complete with the defective pinkies unable to bend. These aliens also looked like his support team. This broadcast on TV no less. Personally I would not be so sure of sharing such an experience. But then I am not promoting Sketicism on a National and International scale and writing books. What this prompted was an investigation into how our brain/mind causes such hallucinations and is it related to similar religious and alien abduction experiences that are reported seemingly frequently these days. I personally enjoy listening to the alien abduction stories and how similar they are to religious experiences recorded from the past. Incubi and suckubi come to mind as Nuns in the Cloisters try to explain a pregnancy and justify an abortion, the gestating child being of the devil. The funniest clip was a number of young women having a discussion in a fashion shop about the origins of wool and cashmere, being from cows. Ignorance is encouraged in certain worldviews, like Christian Fundamentalists who cling to a strict biblical view of the origins issue despite the hundreds of years of scientific evidence for an old earth and evolutionary origins of all the animals on this pale blue dot. I recommend Michael Shermers book The Believing Brain and suggest it to those early in the skeptic mind set. Clifford M Dubery - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Melbourne University ,Arts West Copland Thearter

Saturday 23, April, 2011

Here are some scenes from the walk/bicycle path between High Street Road and near the bridge over the Eastlink Toll Road. Evidence of a still active Dairy Farm. You drive up Carthies Lane, turn left into Pumps Road, then park the car. Walk up the walk/bicycle path and follow it over the Eastlink six lane motorway. Turn right and walk up to the piece of art shown below.














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Location:Cathies Ln,Wantirna South,Australia

Doctor Tiller, Whichita and Tax Refusers

After Listening to Rachel Maddow today, at least an earlier episode Monday 11/04/2011 (wich is all confusing sometimes as I live in Australia and our timezone (GMT -11) is always ahead of the US and MSNBC release their episodes some hours after the Monday Night so it is Wednesday or Thursday before I see ot here anything fron iTunes on my iPhone) she interviewed Stephen Singular about his new book about the assassination of Dr. George Tiller inside a Church in Wichita Kansas. The Wichita Divide, is his latest book.

I also recommend the special Rachel Maddow ran on her show (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826191/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/)
The links with the various anti-abortion groups are so pervassive the FBI is now conducting a full on enquiry as they attended the Criminal trial of Scott Roeder, where they made notes on who was attending in support of Roeder.

This indicates a problem with nomenclature in the USA, where it is plain to all who observe from outside that this is a case of Domestic Terrorism, by Christian Fundamentalist who are on the far Right of this group. The link with the Tax Refusers of the Mid-West which is interesting, because a number of other Terrorist and Abortion Clinic Bombers are in that group.  So the FBI has its work cut out for it.  Good police work always triumphs and the Conservatives need to understand that it applies to all forms of Terrorism.  Making assertions about such things as Weapons of Mass destruction against the evidence and other such claims has done nothing to stop terrorism, it seems to have provided publicity to recruit more people to the cause that results in these Terror Attacks.  Why is Osama bin Laden still a threat after so many lives lost and treasure spent?

Books: Reading List 1

Reading List

Annotations: Reading List: 

 1. Why Orwell Matters, Christopher Hitchens, Chapter 1, Orwell and Empire, p 15 

 2. Hitch-22 A Memoir, Christopher Hitchens, Chapter 9, Martin, p 154 

 3. Signature in the Cell, DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, Stephen C Meyer, Chapter 4, Signature in the Cell p 85 

 4. Collapse, How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, Jared Diamond, Chapter 1, Under the Big Montana Sky, Attitudes to Regulation, p 63 

 5. Scepticism, and the Possibility of Knowledge, A C Grayling, Chapter 1, Berkeley's Argument for Immaterialism, p 25 

 6. Mismatch, Why Our World No Longer Fits Our Bodies, Peter Gluckman and Mark Hanson, Chapter 4, Things Are Not What they Used to be, p 110 

 7. Relics of Eden, The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA, Daniel J Fairbanks. Chapter 9, When Faith and Reason Clash, p 133 

 8. The Family, Power, Politics and Fundamentalism's Shadow Elite, Jeff Sharlet, Chapter 4 Unit Number One, p87

Address:

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Clifford M Dubery 

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The Young Atheists in Melbourne

Actually in Grey St. at the Unitarian Church, East Melbourne. Jason Ball gave us a talk covering his experience as a student with Atheism, Skepticism etc . Covering the establishment of the Secular Society at Melbourne University The Young Australian Skeptics. Jason and I are friends on Facebook and he and I are expecting the CFI to set up here in Melbourne Australia. This would assist us contradicting the woo here in Australia. My friend Debbie Goddard on Facebook referred it to the person at CFI who will do that. Also, I listen to a weekly podcast from that same organization called Point of Enquiry which I download from iTunes. This one has another friend Chris Mooney who interviews another friend Carl Zimmer discussing his new book Brain Cuttings an eBook only, a brave response from Carl. Clifford Dubery- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wellington Parade,,Australia

Dr. George Tiller Investigation Expanded

Rachel Maddow on Monday Night US Eastern Time told us that the Justice Department has empaneled a Grand Jury in Wichita Kansas to investigate whether the murderer of Tiller, Scott Roeder, worked alone. Was there a conspiracy to murder Tiller in Kansas, egged on by Fox TV and the likes of Rush Limbaugh on his radio show. The FBI, was an observer of the trial of Roader and must have become interested in the people who attended in the gallery. Supporters of Roeder, consisting of previously convicted bombers and failed assassins along with friends and family. The FBI agents must have observed enough from that crowd to open a Federal Enquiry. The Homeland Security and other agencies were called in to enhance this investigation. Perhaps we will find out more of this un Christian group that proclaims murder is OK and hate is good. Clifford Dubery- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Rosslyn St,West Melbourne,Australia

News Dissector

I have just listened to Danny Schecter's podcast and radio show called The News Dissector. I am impressed that he was able to have a whole range of international journalists in the studio with him. Discussing anti-militarism and the Empire behavior of the US today and in the past. I recommend this podcast via iTunes for all progressives and those who have doubts about the current unsatisfactory media nonsense from the usual suspects. Did you hear that Rupert Murdoch? Clifford Dubery- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Station St,Malvern,Australia

FFRF and Freedom of Religion

I am pleased to here Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation Foundation reiterate a policy that gets lost in the rhetoric sometimes. That is they support freedom of religion as well. The religiously inclined in the US that comment about the activities of the FFRF need to understand that they are defending their rights to associate and speak and the First Amendment that separates Church and State, something the Founding Fathers were wise to include.

Location:Mansion House Ln,West Melbourne,Australia

Update on Cliff

I have just begun a new job and today is the first day of training. Wish me well on this change in my life? :)

Location:Rosslyn St,West Melbourne,Australia

Russel Blackford interview A.C.Grayling

Date: 11 March 2010 10:14:39

Today I attended this interview at the Nova Cinemas in Lygon Street, Carlton at 6:30 tonight. It went for an hour and consisted of each writer giving their testimonies about why they became athiests.

Each had come to it from reason where the beliefs of Christianity were based on Ancient Greek Myths of one kind or the other. Usually from Secondary School to undergraduate studies at Univercity.

Not all of us can claim such priveleges, and some of us concluded to stay in their particular traditions. Grayling explained that the recent stridentism of the New Atheists began as a reaction to 911, that horrible attack on the Twin Towers in New York City in 2001. This was caused by religiously inspired Radical Fundamentalist Muslims.

The response by the US and UK seemed to have been inspired by Fundamentalist Christians seeking a way forward to Armageddon. So irrationalist thinking on both sides moved this New Atheist movement forward with the assistance of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennet, Sam Harris and Chriistopher Hitchins.

All six people mentioned are worth reading on the subject and I will list the books as an addendum to this post.

Graylings explanation as to why Atheist is a better descriptive than Agnostisms was interesting as a reply to a question. Agnostisism posits we don't know whether their is a god and Atheism states that the probabilty is so low of the existence of a deity that it is reasonable and logical that there is no god and therefore Atheism is a better descriptor.

In my opinion, I agree with Grayling, then it is up to the believer to bring forward the extraordinary evidence required to establish the extraordinary proof required when all scientific endeavors have contradicted all the thrusts believe.

Clifford M Dubery

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Fwd: Friday Night at the Global Atheist Convention

>

> Today is Friday after the evening opening session of the Global
> Atheist Convention. The speakers were, David Nichols, Stuart Beckman
> and Kylie Sturgess who were the opening and introduction. David
> Nicholls, President, Atheist Foundation of Australia spoke of the
> successful set up and preparation for the Convention and the failed
> attempt to garner State Government assistance unlike The World
> Congress of Churches which recieved 5 million AUD from the State
> Government. I understand the application for the Atheists is still
> circulating in Spring Street!
>
> Stuart Bechman, President, Atheist Alliance International didn't say
> much except for a few jokes.
>
> Kylie Sturgess from Skepticzone podcast and her own podcast which
> escapes my memory now, riding this train home.
>
> more later
>
> Clifford
>
> Sent from my iPhone

Back Pain and WorkCover Insurance

My son James is struggling with a shoulder injury and chronic backpain caused by the work he does for Safeway here in Australia. It seems to me the workers in our modern world are back at the stone age of the early 20th century. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Foot St,Frankston South,Australia

Philosophy and Evolution

I have been reading various authors over the years from Stephen Jay Gould to Richard Dawkins and many others. This is the first serious philosophy book on the subject I have tried. "Be prepared" is what I recommend, philosophy has never been my strong suite so this has been a learning process for this little black duck. Dennet has been at this game for a long time and taken this field with a level of intelligence that makes you think when he criticizes your favorite author (Steven Jay Gould) and clears up a question of difference when no difference exists ( Scientists tend to argue their own hypothesis against their most prominent opponent, also a scientist), thus allowing the Philosopher to sought out the debate, maybe. Of course, Gould is not the only specialist in Evolution to be taken to task, so I still need to add some books to my Library, like E.O. Wilson's Sociobiology

Epigenetics and Evolution

Epigenetics is proving interesting in its pull on the evolutionary tangent of new species by the way it impacts via the environment on local species as their environment changes. Along with mutation in the DNA itself, but such mutation (creationists insist on calling it random mutation) is not the only source for the variations required by Natural Selection.

Thinking about Surprise

Duane Boyce has written an essay of interest of those of us who follow Science and Religion and it is worth reading even if you do not read the book he is writing about. Surprise is what we should expect in this day and age where our understanding of science and history is greater by the work of the many historians and scientist over the past 200 years or so. All this work should not be ignored simply because it does not fit our world view. Indeed we should be expecting changes occurring to our world view just like science has to deal with every time a new discovery occurs. The movement of the continents recently, within my life changed how we all see this world and it to Geologists a certain amount of time to accept it. Now it is common knowledge and no ones challenges it seriously. Yet that was a Surprise for us at the time and took a while to adjust our world view to accept it. Thus our Creationist brethren need to value Surprise when it happens, and not fight a boundary war with science which they can only loose.

Notice today

This is just to advise my readers I will be blogging tomorrow night, but not tonight, too tired and grumpy. Clifford M Dubery

Giant Snake in the Amazon in our Hot and Humid Past

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/science/earth/05snake.html?ref=science

This is asking questions about the future for our nature with Global Warming.  Maybe they will all adapt to the changes in the environment quite satisfactory as long as Man species Homo Sapien Sapien does not interfere and wipe them out all together. Man's hunting has caused the physical size of phyla 's to trend down at the moment so there maybe two forces actiong on th enevironment concerning size.

I saw this on Times Online and thought you might be interested

For God’s sake, have Charles Darwin’s theories made any difference to our lives?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5488488.ece

What absolute nonsense goes for an article in the Times these days.  Straw dog version of Evolutionary Biology  (Darwinism) is shot down by exaggerated religious concerns and the odd reference to show that it no longer holds its place in science.  Nonsense, absolute rubbish.  Interview some real biologists and stay away from philosophers who haven’t kept up with the literature!!!

Adaptation in Humans

Dmitri Petrov, James Cai, Michael Macpherson, Guy Sella are Stanford Geneticists who have looked in on the adaptationist nature of humans trough the lens of the human genome. The news article at Physorg.com under the heading Stanford researchers show adaptation plays a significant role in human evolution. Here we find that they a have approached this by actually looking for the evidence in the genome itself.  Making a prediction, looking for the evidence, confirming or not, then publishing. What happens next with this I don't know, but we know it doesn't prove Lamarckism because it starts of early explaining that the random mutations are what the adaptations are made from.  The point is more about the preservation of advantageous adaptations and discarding those that are disadvantageous.

Beipaiosaurus was covered in the simplest known feathers

Beipaiosaurus was covered in the simplest known feathers

In Ed Yong’s blog above, these peculiar creatures are explained and further explanations on the origins of Feathers in Birds is covered. It seems that the more we dig, the more Homo Sapien Sapien keeps finding his origins and the origins of all the creatures that exist today, which is becoming more urgent as they too are becoming extinct rapidly.

More links on the feathers and dinosaurs are:

• Evidence that Velociraptor had feathers
• Microraptor - the dinosaur that flew like a biplane
• Argentavis, the largest flying bird, was a master glider

It seems that these variations have been going on for literally Millions of years.

Committee adopts new administrative handbook

It appears the controversy over Louisiana's changes to the Education curriculum has meant nothing to the Science Teachers.  The Discovery institutes bluster and smoke and mirrors has failed.  Maybe they will have to be more explicit in future so our recalcitrant science teachers understand that Evolution is evil and all text books that mention such a thing should be burned!  Burned I say!

 

Clifford M Dubery

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Committee adopts new administrative handbook

 

Posted: Jan 14, 2009 08:44 AM

 

Updated: Jan 14, 2009 09:06 AM

 

By Caroline Moses

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -A state education committee adopted a new administrative handbook Tuesday, as part of the recently passed Louisiana science education act. The handbook does not specifically ban teaching creationism or intelligent design. Supporters say it doesn't need to because teaching religion in public schools is already banned. But that's why opponents say this entire debate is a costly distraction from the real issues facing state public schools.

 

"It's up to BESE to implement this in our policy," said Dale Bayard who is chairman of the state education board.  Senator Ben Nevers of Bogalusa passed a law last session called the "Louisiana science education act." It gives state education committees the authority to decide what can be taught in state schools. But the committee was a little vague about what's allowed. "It's up to us to provide students with every possible element of new discovery and that's the intent of the act," said Bayard.

 

Gene Mills with Louisiana Family Forum asked Senator Nevers to sponsor the original legislation. He says the intent is to promote "critical thinking" in classrooms, especially science classes. "Where teachers can approach students to inquire about controversial science subject matter," said Mills. But Louisiana Federation of Teachers president Steve Monaghan says not a single teacher in his organization has complained about current science materials. "The time spent on this issue may be in total excess of what the problem was because we don't believe there was a problem in the science classroom anyway," said Monaghan.

 

Even the committee chair Dale Bayard who is in favor of the legislation agreed. Lesson plans may not change much. But he says their hours of debate do help further the discussion. "We don't discourage any discussion that's important," said Bayard.  "I believe what this has done is create a stage for what unfortunately seems to be an embedded political movement. We're going to find ourselves getting tied into knots over issues people are invested in by faith, emotion, and miss the big picture," said Monaghan.

 

Monaghan predicts there will likely be future legal battles over the new law and handbook. Bayard says he is not worried about possible litigation. Thursday, BESE will review the committee adoption. State school board and committee member Dale Bayard expects they will ratify the committee's decision. For more information on this discussion.. Go to Caroline's 9News extra on the home page.

 

Who Abandoned the Nest

What an excellent article about a paleontological report in science.

For years it was a problem understanding why this clutch of eggs was abandoned, but now we know. (follow the link on the picture.)

I have always maintained that science will enforce the Theory of Evolution and make the Creationists seem just plain ignorant, and here we are again with evidence and a story about an event over 70m years ago.

Intelligent design debate brews controversy in Texas

Here is a bit more information about the Texas Science Standards Review Panel.  Notice 2 of the anti-evolutionists on the panel are out of state.  Why is it necessary to appoint non local people from a state as big as Texas? 

I would guess the Republican Party members appointed or voted for  have appointed them for a reason, to establish a pro evolution point of view, or at least a voting duality.  I wander how flexible it will be in reality as they are not elected, just appointed.

The anti-science position of the literalist fundamentalist biblicalists group may be voted out as time moves on with the evidence of their Republican politicians being seen a failures in the Economy.

News 8 Austin Story : Intelligent design debate brews controversy in Texas - 10/15/2008 8:49:37 PM

3 evolution critics on advisory panel that will review standards for science courses in Texas schools

Well, Texas appears to be following the Republican Party policy document in Texas by opposing Evolution in Science class in the advisory panel by stacking at least three idproponents in it.  The advisory panels meetings should be interesting, evenly matched between creationists and real scientists.

3 evolution critics on advisory panel that will review standards for science courses in Texas schools | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Texas Regional News

The End of Evolution?| Christianpost.com

On October 9 a prediction of mine happened, well really, an open speculation on my part, yet it happened. The Christian Post is reporting the End of Evolution, a false claim by the Professor Steve Jones at University College London.  R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is the writer of this and they both do not seem to understand the rate of evolution and the various paths.  Not only genetic changes but we should also understand that changes can occur afterward whilst development is going on in uteri.  So claiming evolution has stopped or evolutionists are wrong is false.  Changes can occur in our little grey cells inside our cranium as we developed.  It is all by EVO-DEVO which I know by Sean B. Carrol, an author of "Endless Forms Most Beautiful, The New Science of Evo Devo", 2005, Professor of Genetics at University of Wisconsin and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Institute, and Peter Gluckman and Mark Hansen, Mismatch, "Why Our World No Longer Fits Our Bodies".  Thus we all need to read more about how Evolution of Species works, even our selves.

 

The End of Evolution?| Christianpost.com

'Expelled' Approaches DVD Release Date| Christianpost.com

Good grief, I now have a chance of actually seeing this Ben Stein production that lies and lies and misrepresents and lies and ......

Perhaps I will be able to give a perspective that is unique, I doubt it, but when I get a chance, I will review it, but all the critques have been done, and I can't add anything new, perhaps I can link it to Religulous when I get a chance to see it, by all accounts constructed the same way.

'Expelled' Approaches DVD Release Date| Christianpost.com

Mysterious DNA Found to Survive Eons of Evolution - Yahoo! News

I wonder if the Anti-evolution Christian Fundamentalist Crowd will grab this story and use it by misquotes and false attributions etc., to establish the false claim that Evolution doesn't happen and all of science is wrong.

Maybe they will take Steve Jones talk at a UCL lunch-time talk in London on 7 Oct. to claim that evolution is over and it never happened?

We will have to wait and see I guess.  Perhaps you can understand my skepticism and prognostications as a factor of my experience reading and attending these creationist lectures and articles all around the place on the world wide web and here in Melbourne.

Mysterious DNA Found to Survive Eons of Evolution - Yahoo! News

Over 800 Scientists Stand Against Language Critical of Evolution| Christianpost.com

Although this article ends with a summary of the Intelligent Design definition of weakness's and strengths of Evolutionary Theory it appears the scientists themselves are working against the States Republican Party Policy and therefore needs to be watched as the curriculum moves closer to establishment in this large State and therefore a publishers guide as to what to publish in the science text book fro the whole country.

I would say it is about time science fought back publically, what will be next in this saga.

Over 800 Scientists Stand Against Language Critical of Evolution| Christianpost.com

Academics spat over intelligent design | Science | guardian.co.uk

 

Academics spat over intelligent design | Science | guardian.co.uk

What a debate taken from polar opposites can achieve any consensus I don't know, but this one goes on and on, this time AC Grayling vs Steve Fuller in The New Humanist.

Now the Guardian has discovered it, unfortunately little is said about the Christians who have no issue with Evolution, or that the parents who brought the Kitzmiller et al. vs. Dover Area High School Board were Christians who went to Church on Sunday and one family taught Science in School during the week.  With what can be described as EVIL letters and threats to the participants, some from the pulpit, it is a disgrace fro anyone calling themselves Christian IMHO.

Why do the Creationists consider themselves representatives of the rest of of us, I don't know, but they act as if they have never been exposed to what Truth really is or what others believe.  It is sad, because the debates will go on and on with no resolution.  Perhaps Stephen Jay Gould was right when he recommended that such debates should be ignored by Science.  At the same time Science should be better at promoting itself, particularly the Evolution Theory.  Note Theory not Hypothesis, established theory of Biology and various fields of research in Science and Medicine.

'Expelled' wins lawsuit over 'Imagine' song

Again the Expelled travesty gets some publicity, although the producers have won against an misconceived challenge to copyright infringement.  They still have to answer the inaccuracies and misquotes in the body of the documentary and the plain false claims about Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection bringing about the NAZI's Eugenics Movement which had been established in the UK and the US prior to German participation.  Further, it was established by Christians as the NAZI's were.   Of course there were notable exceptions thank goodness.

Such lies coming for self proclaimed Christians is breaking the Law, Thou Shall Not Bare False Witness.  One Law conveniently ignored by those same publishers of the "Expelled"  movie.

Accepting the Truth from Science and Religion is essential to all and sundry of this world, and falsely claiming Science is wrong when the evidence points to the truth of Science will make all who make such claims seem ignorant and make the rest of us seem intelligent.

Understanding the errors in the Scriptures and the Truth of Science and Scripture is a major study by us all.

'Expelled' wins lawsuit over 'Imagine' song

The Columbus Dispatch : 'Ant from Mars' might help clarify evolution of species

 

The Columbus Dispatch : 'Ant from Mars' might help clarify evolution of species .

Here at this news paper is an article that has been called "Ant from Mars" by E. O. Wilson at Harvard University, it is consider to be a relative to the exiting ants, however a better understanding would help by studying these underground ants via their DNA and how it is similar or different to ants and wasps as the current theory from E.O. Wilson has written some time ago now.

As we move along these years as the pass, more discoveries will assist in establishing without guesses, but as reason of the natural world moves.  Understanding speciation in this world from Evo-Devo, Evolutionary Biology, Paleontology and varies others.

What's next I wander?  Hmmmmm?

'Redesigned Hammer' That Forged Evolution Of Pregnancy In Mammals

An interesting reseach that is further prooving Evolution, this time about the placental mammals which includes us. So we are learning about regulatory genes and proteins that run around building us up brick by brick in a symphony which is a wander.

'Redesigned Hammer' That Forged Evolution Of Pregnancy In Mammals Discovered By Scientists 21 Sep 2008        Yale researchers have shown that the origin and evolution of the placenta and uterus in mammals is associated with evolutionary changes in a single regulatory protein, according to a report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.     "Many past studies have shown that genes are regulated and altered by changes within their own structures. This is the first work suggesting that the evolution of transcription factors - separate regulatory proteins - may play an active role in the origin and evolution of structural innovations like the placenta and uterus," said senior author Gunter Wagner, the Alison Richard Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Yale.     Pregnancy is a biologically unusual situation where one organism lives and develops inside another that is genetically different. Ordinarily, the immune system identifies and destroys the dissimilar tissue as if it were a parasite. But in some early mammals, changes 'turned down' the immune system, allowing the developing embryo to grow and thrive unchallenged by the maternal immune response.     With the evolution of the uterus and placenta, it became possible for mammals to protect their growing young and to ensure they were not exposed to an unpredictable environment, like their egg-laying relatives. This study identified one of the genetic switches that tempered the immune system and allowed formation of the placenta and internal development of young.     By analyzing DNA from many species of mammals, including resurrecting genes from the extinct ancestors of mammals, the researchers found that a crucial regulatory link in the evolution of pregnancy involved the altered function of a transcription factor protein, HoxA-11.     The specific change they found in HoxA-11 is present in all known placental mammals - from elephants, the most primitive lineage with a placenta, to humans - but does not exist in marsupials, like opossums or wallabies, where there is a brief and rudimentary pregnancy followed by development of the offspring outside the mother, or in egg-laying mammals like the platypus.     The textbook story is that regulatory proteins, like HoxA-11, are ancient, universal and unchanging tools, and that new functions arise by using an existing tool from the gene regulatory 'toolbox' in a new or different place.     According to Yale graduate student Vincent Lynch, lead author of the study, "We are writing a different chapter. In this case the function of a major regulatory tool was altered - it is like we found a redesigned hammer."     ---------------------------- Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. ----------------------------     Other authors include Andrea Tanzer and Deena Emera at Yale, Yajun Wang and Frederick C. Leung at the University of Hong Kong, and Birgit Gellersen at Endokrinologikum Hamburg, Germany. The research was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.     Citation: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (early online September 17, 2008)     Gunter Wagner Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Vincent Lynch     Source: Janet Rettig Emanuel Yale University   Article URL: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/122155.php Main News Category: Biology / Biochemistry Also Appears In:  Pregnancy / Obstetrics,  Genetics,  Immune System / Vaccines,     Save time! Get the latest medical news headlines for your specialist area, in a weekly newsletter e-mail. See http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsletters.php for details.

Send your press releases to pressrelease@medicalnewstoday.com

   

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Bacterial Flagella Revisited

Mark Perakh has written a definitive response to Michael Behe’s Irreducible Complexity of the Bacterial Flagella called Flagella – Real or Fictional. Remember Michael Behe? He is a professor of bio-chemistry at Lehigh University and author of Darwin’s Black Box, published in 1996. This was the lead book in the assault on High School Science in the US lead by the Discovery Institute in Seattle. He was a key expert witness for the Dover School Board Federal Court Case known as Kitzmiller et al vs. The Dover School Board, and was the subject of a successful demonstration of how Intelligent Design is not science, to put it mildly. The truth is, it was embarrassing and the prosecution wiped the floor with him. They introduced contrary evidence in the form of a stack of books that Behe had said he hadn’t read and that they were wrong. An extraordinary drama as an expert witness was made to be seen as a fool.

Bacterial Flagella is not the only arrow in the quiver of the ID movement and I must advise you to read Kenneth R Millers recent book, Only A Theory, 2008, an excellent rebuttal to a lot of the other so called evidence for Intelligent Design. Let me say, Perakh has nailed even the appearance of Intelligent Design in the real world.

---

Articulation, forthrightness, subtle reasoning but lucid expression, skepticism--these are the traits of intellectuals, not of untrained and undeveloped minds, nor of neat scholars, capable only to serve as curators of the past, but not as critics of the present. Jacob Neusner, 1977, The Glory of God is Intelligence, p8

Evidence For Evolution 2

Exploding Chromosomes Fuel Research About Evolution Of Genetic Storage

ScienceDaily (Aug. 21, 2008) — Human cells somehow squeeze two meters of double-stranded DNA into the space of a typical chromosome, a package 10,000 times smaller than the volume of genetic material it contains.

"It is like compacting your entire wardrobe into a shoebox," said Riccardo Levi-Setti, Professor Emeritus in Physics at the University of Chicago.

Now research into single-celled, aquatic algae called dinoflagellates is showing that these and related organisms may have evolved more than one way to achieve this feat of genetic packing. Even so, the evolution of chromosomes in dinoflagellates, humans and other mammals seem to share a common biochemical basis, according to a team Levi-Setti led. The team's findings appear online, in Science Direct's list of papers in press in the European Journal of Cell Biology.

Packing the whole length of DNA into tiny chromosomes is problematic because DNA carries a negative charge that, unless neutralized, prevents any attempt at folding and coiling due to electrostatic repulsion. The larger the quantity of DNA, the more negative charge must be neutralized along its length.

Read the rest at ScienceDaily:

Darwin, Linnaeus, and One Sleepy Guy a good introduction to Linnaeus and his taxonomy, worth reading, Carl Zimmer always presents a well researched article or book and is a great spokes person for science and defender of Evolution. So visit The Loom as often as you can and learn, like I do about the many facets of Evolutionary Biology.

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...religion thrives through the use of the mind and intellect. Skepticism and critical thinking are friends, not enemies, of religion. Jacob Neusner, 1977

Rational Thoughts.

Dubery Bookshop

Evidence for Evolution 1

Molecular Sleuths Track Evolution Through The Ribosome

A new study of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building machinery, sheds light on the oldest branches of the evolutionary tree of life and suggests that differences in ribosomal structure between the three main branches of that tree are "molecular fossils" of the early evolution of protein synthesis. The new analysis, from researchers at the University of Illinois, reveals that key regions of the ribosome differ between bacteria and archaea, microbes that the researchers say are genetically closer to eukarya, the domain of life that includes humans. The study appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. read the rest at Medical News Today

Animal Evolution - The Development Of Nerves

University of Queensland researchers have traced the origins of one of the most important steps in animal evolution - the development of nerves. Professor Bernie Degnan, from UQ's School of Integrative Biology, together with PhD student Gemma Richards and colleagues from France, have traced the evolution of the nerve cell by looking for pre-cursors in, of all places, the marine sponge. "Sponges have one of the most ancient lineages and don't have nerve cells," Professor Degnan said. "So we are pretty confident it was after the sponges split from trunk of the tree of life and sponges went one way and animals developed from the other, that nerves started to form. "What we found in sponges though were the building blocks for nerves, something we never expected to find." Professor Degnan said the science involved came from the relatively new area of paleogenomics, which is the study of ancestral genomes to paint a more accurate picture of animal evolution.

Read the rest of this article at: Medicine News Today.

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...religion thrives through the use of the mind and intellect. Skepticism and critical thinking are friends, not enemies, of religion. Jacob Neusner, 1977

Rational Observer.

Dubery Bookshop

Beliefs on Religion and Science

Just read some of the Templeton Foundation Website about beliefs in Science and Religion worth a look. The Question is "Does science make God obsolete?" and the participants are Steven Pinker, Christoph Cardinal Shonborn, William D Phillips, Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, Mary Midgley, Robert Sapolsky, Christopher Hitchens, Keith Ward, Victor J Stenger, Jerome Groopman, Michael Shermer, Kenneth R Miller, Stuart Kaufmann are the participants. Of course we don't need to know Richard Dawkins view on this subject, the debates between the participants are interesting though. Dawkins, of course has a point of view which we can characterise as Extreme Atheism or Fundamentalist Atheist, more commonly referred to as The New Atheists, where all religion is equivalent to child abuse and should be kept out of Primary and Secondary Schools with the exception of perhaps Comparative Religion, Referring to a child as a Mormon child, a Catholic child or a Moslem child, assumes too much and we can't expect our children to have such fully formed beliefs as their parents, etc, etc. I personally, take a view similar to Kenneth Miller and have the philosophical rule that, if you think there is a conflict between science and the scripture, you haven't read the scriptures correctly. This was held by Gallileo Gallilei amongst many luminaries and is a good place to start when a conflict, like evolution vs. creationism crops up in a discussion. I have recently been reading Stven Jay Goulds, Punctuated Equilibrium, a contraction to a specific subject of his great Opus The Structure of Evolutionary Theory.

Theory and Practice

I have now decided to be on Kenneth Millers side after reading his latest Only a Theory, which has given his view as an evolutionary biologist and a practicing Catholic. He has covered evolutionary explanations for so many creationist themes I highly recommend his book if you need the explanations in a readable format like I do. It covers the nonsense from Ken Ham (not the astronaut), Dembski, Behe, to nominate three of the anti-evolutionists. The understanding of Genesis as a creation myth rather than a true story to be understood literally is one of the fights amongst religionists, and I feel such threats to such people should be considered unchristian. They need to understand this too. Science is explaining how the world was created not why. Those who are the New Atheists need to back off a bit, however they too are getting death threats from so called Christians and remember the Dover School Board, after voting the creationists from the School Board were told they shouldn't pray for assistance from the Almighty because they have rejected God by a prominent Christian Politician. How hypocritical was that after a court case found that the creationists (Bonsell, Buckingham et al) were lying. The Religions in the US should be teaching their congregations to support the Constitution and not knocking it down. The Dominionists are trying to turn the US into a Theocratic state, resembling Fascism and Nazism of the past that my ancestors fought a world war to prevent. This goal will result in any non-conformists from their definition being named Heretics and we know what happened when governments enforced religion in the past. The trouble is we are not learning from history on many levels, not just the one under discussion here. So if your public school is teaching religion, not just creationism in science class, but every thing including prayers at assembly, then contact the ACLU and find others of the same concern in your community. This is not just about one thing, it is about freedom to practice your religion without being forced by others through the Government and their schools.

The Devil in Disguise

With the Louisiana decision to promote Intelligent Design (a particular form defined by the Discovery Institute) I have bought a book from Amazon and read it straight away, which is unusual for me. I found “The Devil in Dover”, both informative and concerning. Lauri Lebo, the author and resident of the area where the events took place gives us a very personal and detailed account of how the Fundamentalist Christian Creationists brought shame and expenses to the Dover Pennsylvania School Board, as well as personal heartache and stress.

Watching “Judgment Day” and “Flock of Dodos” is not enough, after Lebo there is a satisfaction that we can understand both sides of the Kitzmiller et al vs. Dover Area School District in the narrative Lebo gives us and we end up with a deeper understanding of the effects on both sides of this case. From Lauri Lebo herself to the two who started the whole thing, William Buckingham and Alan Bonsell.

The invitation to the Discovery Institute and the Thomas More Law Centre for the Defendants, The ACLU and the Pepper Hamilton LLP for the Complainants. The battle lines were drawn by a thorough research on one side and a lazy attitude to research on the other. An example was Barbara Forrest's testimony, the amount of work she and her associates did on the Of Pandas and People book was a detectives nightmare, yet they persisted with the tenacity only someone who understands science could do. This sort of dedication to their case was not evident in their testimony, in fact they managed to contradict and show their lying. Which must have been embarrassing for they were claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ!!

Buckingham’s health became an issue unfortunately and his addiction to a prescription drug became evidence about his inability to remember what happened. Bonsell just failed any test given him, remaining ignorant about the costs to the School Board he had personally caused due to this whole Creationist nonsense.

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In the US the influence of the Fundamentalist Christian Evangelical people is built into the current Government of George W Bush, in the Military and within State Republican Parties. For example, an anti-evolution statement is in the Texas Republican Party Platform, so we can expect trouble there, and guess what, yes, it has happened. More about that later perhaps. What about Florida and Louisiana?

Articulation, forthrightness, subtle reasoning but lucid expression, skepticism--these are the traits of intellectuals, not of untrained and undeveloped minds, nor of neat scholars, capable only to serve as curators of the past, but not as critics of the present. Jacob Neusner, 1977, The Glory of God is Intelligence, p8

Irrational Left and Right in the US Election Campaign

Or, Nonsense and Perfidy amongst Christians and Atheists.

I have become rather animated about a number of things that have happened this week last as I have listened to podcasts of radio shows from the US and Blogs and Commentaries both from the Internet, which tend to get to me before News Limited decide to publish in the Australian newspaper here in Australia, aka., Terra Australis Incognita.

We are all familiar by now about Mitt Romney’s problems with the anti-Mormon nature of his opposition from within the Republican Party, particularly, the so called, Christian Right.  The speech he gave some time ago where he quoted Brigham Young, one time leader of my and Mitt Romney’s Church.  Whatever Mitt quoted BY saying is irrelevant, because the response was acidic.  The argument being, that given Mitt Romney gave a quote from BY (from over a hundred years ago, then some other statement from this Great Man (BY) yet flawed Prophet is relevant.  This, of course is nonsense, unrelated to his speech that day defending his Mormon heritage, one I might add, is honorable and he is justifiably proud of, and a reasonable effort to answer his critics.

From this vantage point it looks like the critics had nothing to hook on except a past that did not include the candidate directly.  It looks absurd and irrational.

So weeks went by and I am busy listening to radio shows and Internet audio blogs when my attention was caught by KCRW’s “Left, Right and Centre” commentary on the weeks political events.  Obama on Race, Iraq Five Years Later, Obama Speaks, with a date last Friday, 21, March, 2008. Here a temporary replacement for Robert Shier (Truthdig.com) Lawrence O’Donnell started a train of discussion on Obama’s Pastor in Chicago and some statement related to Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s opposition to US Foreign Policy and how Reverend Wright  is ashamed of it, and saying something like “God damn America” for these foreign Imperial escapades by the US.

Arianna Huffington, and Tony Blankley with Matt Miller made up the team.  However it was Lawrence O’Donnell’s foray into Mitt Romney’s Faith Speech that topped the cake.

Today's generations of Americans have always known religious liberty. Perhaps we forget the long and arduous path our nation's forbearers took to achieve it. They came here from England to seek freedom of religion. But upon finding it for themselves, they at first denied it to others. Because of their diverse beliefs, Ann Hutchinson was exiled from Massachusetts Bay, a banished Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, and two centuries later, Brigham Young set out for the West. Americans were unable to accommodate their commitment to their own faith with an appreciation for the convictions of others to different faiths. In this, they were very much like those of the European nations they had left.

Here Romney is telling our story and how it relates to others of the American Foundation, Mormons experienced religious bigotry and intolerance and ended up with an assassinated Prophet and a move to found a Deseret State outside the Union at the time.  Of course Utah was established later.

The point I can’t understand is why Mitt Romney, because he invoked Brigham Young is therefore responsible for everything the man said in his prolific and verbose life as Prophet, Governor of an ostracized people.  I wouldn’t expect Barack Obama to be personally responsible for what Pastor Reverend Wright said some other time than Mitt Romney on what Brigham Young said 100 years ago or so.  I’m sure we could extract in appropriate material from many sources in Religion, these people are human after all.

I don’t want to say anymore for fear of upsetting the reader, but you get my drift I hope.  Barack Obama is not Pastor Wright and Mitt Romney is not Brigham Young.  Where did Lawrence O’Donnell get his education?

Insulting the King

It just shows what a corrupt and ignorant world we live in. With the exponential growth of the Internet to almost anywhere on the globe these days, a Facebook user applies a mock Prince Moulay Rachid name for his account and he now faces jail for insulting the inbred royal. Living in Australia, it just seems so backward, however, I take a step back and realise the reserve powers of the Governor General have not been addressed, and should we here in Oz decide to mock Prince Charles (which is not a difficult task) it could happen to moi? Scary thought? Not true? Does the Liberal Parties penchant for maintaining our ties to Her Majesties train, and the recent MP, PM John Howard the leader of such anachronistic beliefs, it may happen. The faster Labor moves towards a Republic the better, if you ask me.

Live and Let Live

Believe and let Believe, Worship and let Worship

Boundary Patrols of the Eschatological Type

I don’t understand the truth surrounding the world. All religions should be given freedom to worship, and all should leave science classes to science.

Hardly any of the right wing Christians understand the truth about the scriptures. Genesis and Deuteronomy for example have been taken out of context many times, particularly in the Creation vs. Evolution debate that seems to be quite serious in the US, they continually treat them literally, and where they are repeated elsewhere in the scriptures.

It is clear from the evidence of such authors as Margaret Barker¹ and Robert Dunn², that the Deuteronomists were responsible for many changes in the scriptures, including the monotheist beliefs that are promoted by creeds all over the Judeo-Christian world, not to mention Islam.

Science has proceeded since the ”The Enlightenment” on various levels to extend our knowledge of the natural world, and this has indicated an ancient Earth where all life is related, where many different fields of science have confirmed what Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace first proposed, represented by On the Origin of Species by Natural Select, published in 1859, it created a stir then and now. The Modern Synthesis, Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Development, Genetics, and many others confirm Evolutionary Theory as it is now understood and progresses to a better understanding of the natural World.

Yet we find a large number of the Western population hanging on an old interpretation of the Holy Scriptures that causes them to believe the account in Genesis is a literal interpretation of how the Earth and the Universe was put together rather than the Foundation Myth it seems to be. This also includes the idea of a Great Flood should be extended to a concept of a Universal Flood. Science has shown none of these events occurred as described and interpreted, not only that, there is no evidence to support a 7000 year Erath and a Universal Flood about 4000 years ago. Yet they continue with pseudo-science explanations for these events conducting various campaigns, writing books and lecturing, debating, etc. In all this they are seriously presenting these arguments, they believe them, and will go to many lengths not exactly honest to present them and get them accepted by society, particularly in the US.

The most recent is the Kitzmiller vs. Dover School District, Dover Pennsylvania Federal Case, Judge John E Jones III, presiding. Here the defendants were shown to be liars and motivated by religion in their attempt to introduce a non-science tract into the Year 8 Biology Class. The Science Teachers themselves had refused to participate and it appears the only conspirators were those on the school board, named in the court case and their supporters. They disgraced their cause, their religions and made the whole Intelligent Design movement appear to be liars and cheats and on top of that, cowards in battle (the Discovery Institute pulled out before the trial started).

Yet, despite this embarrassing loss, the guns are still firing as previously mentioned in an earlier posts, Never a Dull Moment 2, Never a Dull Moment 3, Florida, people are loosing their jobs for supporting science in a science education position, and Intelligent Design advocates are losing their jobs for refusing to do what they were contracted to do, conduct research into evolutionary effects. And a graduate Ms SA Smith found some serious plagiarism³ and unattributed material at a presentation by William Dembski, a scion of the Discovery Institute. I would have thought, that being honest and truthful in your dealings with your fellow humans is an essential part of Christianity and many other religions, as well as atheism as it is practiced. Why aren’t these fellows held accountable? I guess Ms SA Smith is right when she says she is not a Harvard lawyer, neither am I.

All we can do is point out these flaws in their arguments to anyone that will listen, some feel this is futile, indeed the great Stephen Jay Gould recommended that these creationist/ID proponents be not debated, because they always set up the environment in their favor, only when an outside forum (a federal court fro example) can the truth come out.

Meanwhile I heard Christopher Hitchens speculate that perhaps the concept of Noma has its benefits, referring the SJ Goulds, Non-overlapping Magisteria concept. So perhaps we should all confine ourselves to what we are representing and give up on misrepresenting subjects we know nothing about.

1.

1 Flock of Dodos by Randy Olson.

2. Judgment Day, Intelligent Design on Trial, PBS NOVA Special on the Kitzmiller vs. Dover School Board.

3. PBS Airs False Facts in it’s “Inherit The Wind” Version of the Kitzmiller Trial. A criticism of the PBS documentary above from the Discovery Institute.

4. Margaret Barker

5. Robert Dunn

6. Ms SA Smith posted to Panda’s Thumb in November a post DI Expelled for Plagiarism, showing false claims using plagiarized material which was unattributed to it’s original authors. It is well worth visiting to see the perfidy of the ID proponents, in this case William Dembski who didn’t appear at the Dover trial.

Faith in Politics

Finally we have a Prime Minister who has a rational and caring policy consistent with the Christianity I understand and have been taught and read all these years.  Basically, he agrees that a good Christian has Faith as a doing word.  That they follow the example of Christ and minister to the poor and needy, whatever their circumstance and condition.

 

The example by the overtly Christian John Howard (who recently lost his seat and his party (Liberal Party of Australia) lost Government) was one of a vindictive judge of all, incarcerating people arriving on our shores without documents and denying them due process.  Passing draconian laws that criminalized what was a difficult and arduous way of arriving in Australia, splitting up families, and causing untold psychiatric harm to innocent people. Fortunately there is an end in sight now.

 

Parts of the Australian Labor Party and other organizations like Safecom in Western Australia. Legal representatives for these same undocumented visitors, asylum seekers.  With authors such as Robert Manne, David Corlett, Clive Hamilton and many others, I have learnt of the Fascist nature of John Howard and his Cabinet of mean spirited people.  They are gone now with the extraordinary thing, The Prime Minister lost his seat, only the second time since federation.  I would like to think that pure self-interest is now discredited and a more humane society.  Remember the Media confirms, sometimes with a delay, these important observations, so we must mention The Melbourne Age and The Australian to round it out.

 

As I watch the US and the Bush Presidency self destruct where contradictions appear more frequently from within.  Hopefully it is indeed just a matter of time before a change occurs in that great nation.

 

1 The Monthly, October 2006, Faith in Politics, Kevin Rudd

 

2 Kevin Rudd at New College, UNSW, 26 October 2005, Kevin Rudd’s Social Gospel

 

3 Quarterly Essay

 

4. Project Safecom

 

 

 

 

Never A Dull Moment 3: Florida

Debate Over teaching Evolution Moves To Florida.

I don’t know whether it is because Jeb Bush is the Governor and he is related to GW Bush of the Whitehouse and former Governor of Texas but Florida is experiencing a problem with Evolution being taught in Schools.  The new standards for teaching Science in Public Schools have meant Evolution is being called Evolution for the first time and a deeper curriculum is required of teachers.  Florida is making every effort to raise the standard of it’s students who are not performing well in National Standards tests.

This has resulted in opposition to evolution and the Intelligent Design hypothesis being presented as a viable alternative alongside evolution.  This is of course not true, the Intelligent Design Hypothesis has no scientific support, verification at all, and is not falsifiable under the rules science operates.

They haven’t understood the Dover, Pennsylvania case, Kitzmiller vs. Board of education, which was classified by a Federal Judge as a religious attempt and against the US Constitution, you know, where the Government may not make any law prescribing Religion, yes, that one.

I will watch this case too and report back or if you have anything to add please do so.

Never A Dull Moment 2

Further information has come to light about the Creation vs. Evolution debate in the US to my last post.

 

With reference to Jonathan M Gitlin’s article (Intelligent Design Resurface in Court, School Board) it appears there is some additional facts of the cases discussed.

 

Nathaniel Abraham the Post Doc who was fired from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, for failing to work in an area he was contracted to do, who has commenced a law suite for wrongful dismissal over his Intelligent Design Beliefs, apparently works for Liberty University.  Whether someone can refuse to work a contract which contradicts his basic beliefs will be answered in court.  If the dismissal was fair and above board, he will lose the case, otherwise Intelligent Design has won one round.  I wander where the Discovery Institute is in all this?

 

 

Never A Dull Moment

Will Science and Religion Kiss and Makeup?

Peter Smith at The Courier Journal gives us an interesting story about a odd couple in this great conversation about science and religion, or more detailed, Evolution vs Creation.

In the center of the Bible Belt and therefore the anti-evolution universe we find Rev Michael Dowd author of “Thank God For Evolution” and Connie Barlow, “From Gaia To Selfish Genes” his wife conducting a campaign, they want to make the “evolutionary story” as interesting and relevant as the Creation Museum, 2800 Bullittsburg Church Road, Petersburg, Kentucky.

They had the nerve to take Michael and Connie into the Creation Museum with the cameraman in tow, whether they realized Michael was an evil evolutionist (conflated to evolutionist don’t forget) or not, it apparently went well and Dowd and Barlow continue with their campaign, visit them and give them support, rational thought and religious conviction can work together, unlike Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, says, and this example shines through the murk.

Meanwhile in Iowa and Texas, being an Intelligent Design supporter in the Science Faculties is getting more difficult.

1. Intelligent Design theory influenced ISU tenure vote, The Des Moines Register, December 1, 2007.

2. State Science Curriculum Director resigns under pressure, Channel 8 News, Austin, Texas, December 3, 2007.

These two stories appear opposites and I find curious, one a professor failing to get tenure because the faculty voted his application down, for the simple reason that he supports Intelligent Design (a now discredited idea) even though his area of expertise does not involve it or evolution.

The other is a curriculum board member resigning because she opposes Intelligent Design. Intelligent Design has been discredited in court and in the science literature, many times, so why does she feel she has to resign. Chris Comer told the News reporter that she had no comment and had retained council. I suspect she has a good case and the allegations of misconduct and insubordination are false and put out to try and cover this incident for what it was.

I tend to supporting both parties, after all, if you are a in the Physics and Astronomy faculty like department and biological evolution or intelligent design is not taught in your classes and tutorials then tenure should be based on your performance and published work, not how you feel about unrelated material.

The second is more complex because internal politics has by all observations conspired to make her life difficult, and thus she must make her case, which I am confident she can win, since those pressuring her are ignorant of the law.